This invention relates to first aid devices for the care of burns and in particular, to a burn wound dressing that is useful for decreasing the temperature at the surface of a burn wound and to help prevent infection of the wound so as to help to lessen the extent of injury to a burn victim.
Numerous fire extinguishers and fire fighting devices are available. Of these, many of the fire extinguishers make use of asbestos cloth. Exemplary of such devices are those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 360,998 issued to J. W. Cloud on Apr. 12, 1887 and British Patent Specification No. 340,172 accepted on Dec. 24, 1930. However, it is now known that asbestos is a carcinogenic material and its use has fallen into disfavor throughout the world.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,902,559 issued to Everingham et al. on Sep. 2, 1975 also describes a fire fighting appliance. U.S. Pat. No. 3,902,559 describes a wool carrier of specified weave. The carrier is stored in a container with a viscous aqueous solution until needed. The solution contains a thickening agent and can contain Tea Tree Oil, RESIGUARD and PHENONIP. The appliance can be worn by a fire fighter as protection from the fire.
Medicated pads and bandages for treatment of wounds, including burn wounds, are also well known. Exemplary pads and bandages are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,062,210, 3,089,492, 3,395,063, 3,624,224, 3,657,760, 3,750,666 and 4,310,509.
It can be disadvantageous to form a burn dressing from wool. Wool can include traces of impurities remaining from processing steps and it can be expensive to remove these impurities from the wool to assure cleanliness and sterility. U.S. Pat. No. 4,306,551 refers to an adhesive bandage having a substrate with a matrix having a synthetic resin with a liquid emulsion consisting of carbohydrate or protein incorporated therein. The bandage can be sterilized by irradiation and still retain its tackiness.
With respect to the care of burns, the main objectives are to relieve pain, help prevent contamination, eliminate the source of heat and stop the burn progression. Dry dressings do not eliminate the heat source. In fact, dry dressings retain heat and cause the burn area to enlarge, thereby intensifying the severity of the injury. In addition, dry dressings provide little protection against contamination and pain and usually adhere to burnt clothing and skin tissue. A great deal of pain and skin damage can result from the removal of dry dressings.
Ordinary tap water has also been used in emergency situations, but it is not practical and only superficially eliminates the heat source. Furthermore, water does not rapidly penetrate through clothing or skin tissue. In addition, tap water does not provide protection against contamination and can even cause contamination. Tap water can also irritate exposed nerve endings causing intensified pain and discomfort. Finally, hypothermia can be induced by the use of tap water because water cools by uncontrolled evaporation.
It is therefore desirable to provide an improved burn dressing that has good bacteriostatic activity and that aids in the care of burn wounds.